Meet a Torero

CIEE planned for us to meet a real life bull-fighter. What we anticipated to be a general description of the tradition quickly proved to be an eye opening presentation about the mythical and historical/cultural beliefs about bulls, as well as the Mediterranean societal practices and traditions surrounding the bull and the ceremonious sacrifice of bulls for feeding villages. The purpose of the presentation was not to justify or change personal opinion about the correctness of the tradition today. Rather, it enriched our understanding of the tradition beyond what we could know from basic media and foreign perspective. We watched the Torero get dressed with the help of his assistant while the presenter, Raphael, poetically elaborated details from his academic, published investigations. They described the purpose of iconography, clothing and basic stance without having to see any images of the act. This exact presentation was developed for use with US anthropology students for the University of Sevilla. I found it to be a very appropriate and respectful way to address the subject. As a teacher, my overall personal opinion of the tradition was not changed. However, I feel that I am much more aware of it's intricacies and will be able to better support future students, colleagues and friends with their processing of this Spanish tradition.